What's going on at the polls now — Foster's election team reports

Foster's reporters are at the polls this morning throughout the Tri-City and Seacoast region. They are filing reports to let readers know what's happening.

From Staff Reportsnews@fosters.com

4:15 p.m. Somersworth — Paul Chabot, 81-year-old retired Somersworth resident, voted for Obama. "We're moving in the right direction, slowly, but still in the right direction," Chabot said. "Romney can't produce what he says he's going to produce."
4:05 p.m., Farmington — Maria Schloesser, 44, who co-owns a concrete construction company, voted for President Barack Obama. She says, "Because we're a small business. We own two and we're also middle class and we feel that we're not getting our fair share and I think he'd do the best for us."
4 p.m., Dover Foster's web editor, Janine Mitchell, reports lines out the door at Ward 2. Says she though she waited 45 minutes, she got there "just in time."
3:31 p.m., Durham — Voters were brought in by the bus-full to Oyster River High School where a line of student voters reached nearly around the entire building as they awaited their turn to register to vote in the town.
"We've been very busy today," Town Administrator, Todd Selig said.
He said by early afternoon there were already over 1,500 same-day registrants.
University of New Hampshire students waited patiently outdoors a officials worked the polls inside the gymnasium and new voters registered in the multi-purpose room.
Town Clerk Lorrie Pratt said things were going smoothly all morning and, though they still were after lunch time, there was a burst of voters looking to cast their ballot all of a sudden.
She was getting ready to make her way back to the Town Offices to get more cards for new registrants.
"It's been very steady," she said.
An additional table was set up to accommodate the number of new voters who needed to register.
By about 2 p.m. there were 3,454 ballots cast, which she said was a very high number at about halfway through the day and on their way to the anticipated 8,000 votes by the end of the day.
"No matter how much you plan, it just gets busy, busy," she said. — Foster's reporter, Andrea Bulfinch
3 p.m., Dover — Lee Skinner, Dover's Ward 4 moderator, said lines were long at 8 a.m. but they calmed down by 10 a.m.
"I'm sure by 4, the drum beat will start again," he sa id.
As for voter identification, Skinner said there had not been any problems.
“Most people have an ID. The few that don't, we are being careful right up front in saying, 'If you don't have an ID, don't leave.' Some other places seem to have misinformation. Not here. We've done a few voter affidavits. We've had no confrontations, nothing dramatic," he said.
Outside of the Elk's Lodge on Durham Road, campaigners were holding signs, hoping to get their last word into voters before they headed inside to cast a ballot. Skinner said everyone was behaving.
“I try to go outside every hour and look for bloody noses, bruises and signs abandoned,” he joked about checking the sign holders outside of Elk's Lodge. “But no, they are all behaving. Now and then there will be someone running for something who is a contentious person to begin with … Most of the time, the campaigners out there are good natured, good willing. The urban legend is that sometimes one holds the other one's sign so they can run in and go to the bathroom or take a break or something. I don't know if it is true, but as you can see, they are getting along fine," he said.
Skinner had high hopes this afternoon of getting home early tonight.
“The polls close at 7. If we haven't processed all the absentee ballots, which we start processing around 1 o'clock or whenever they arrive, we'll start processing them as soon as we can. Ideally they're done by 7 o'clock in the evening. Then, we count up the write-ins. The machine gives us the tally of the non-write-in votes. Then we do book keeping," he said. “The thing is, if parking lot is crowded and you are looking to park to come in and vote at 7 p.m., I have to figure out who is already in the parking lot or not, and those who were already here can come in and vote,” Skinner said.
"I would hope to be home by 9:30. I'm optimistic," Skinner said. " This is my first presidential election as a moderator. We'll see how it goes.”
— Foster's reporter, Michelle Kingston
2:25 p.m., Dover — Aaron Wensley, moderator at Ward 5, said he's had at least 10 times more absentee ballots today than during the primary
2:20 p.m., Dover — Gary Gilmore, moderator at Ward 3, said it has been so busy that he expects turnout to be larger than 2008.
1:50 p.m., Dover — Michael Weeden, running for reelection for State Rep, outside Ward 6 this morning said he had no problem showing his ID.. "I have to show it everywhere else, why not at the polls, too?"
Lee Skinner, moderator at Ward 4 said this is his first time moderating a presidential election, but said he expects tonight to run smoothly and to be home at 9:30.
1:20 p.m., Somersworth and Rollinsford — Several Somersworth moderators were reporting steady streams of voters just before noon Tuesday.
“This is the most people we've seen in a long time,” said Joanne Demers, moderator for Ward 5 in Somersworth. Slightly over 250 Ward 5 voters had cast ballots at the Romeo J. Messier building by 11:15 a.m., Demers said.
Marty Dumont, moderator for Ward 3 in Somersworth, was also saying attendance was high Tuesday morning. “We're seeing about 110 voters every hour,” he said at the ward's voting center on Bartlett Avenue. “Over 400 people have voted so far — the turnout is pretty high.”
Rollinsford was also seeing a high volume of voters. “We're now over 500 voters and getting close to 600,” town clerk Charisse Baker said at 11:30 a.m. “This is currently very high for us.” A steady stream of voters could be seen milling in and out of the American Legion building on Foundry Street to cast ballots just before noon.
— From Foster's reporter Oliver Jenkins
1:05 p.m., Newmarket — A slew of voters continued to arrive at the high school shortly after noon Tuesday.
Democratic candidates Michael Cahill and William Hudson Connery III, and Republican state Rep. Adam Schroadter, who are competing for House seats in Newmarket, were all on hand holding sign posts outside the door to the gymnasium.
Among the veterans of New Hampshire politics who were on hand was Abby the golden retriever. The 14-year-old dog was adorned in a neon green sign advertising a slate of Democratic candidates.
Owner Joan DeYoreo said her dog is a “Democratic party animal,” which has been an election day fixture for the past two presidential cycles. Abby was a “Dog for Dean” during the 2004 primary, before transferring allegiance to the eventual Democratic nominee, Sen. John Kerry. Abby was briefly a “Canine for Kucinich” in 2008, but ultimately “barked for Barack” that year. DeYoreo said campaigning with a dog helps ease the tension during conversations with other voters.
“I think it sort of makes them laugh a little bit, and it's sort of a less harsh way to get your point across, I think.”
Democrat Martha Fuller Clark, who is running for election to the state Senate in District 21, stopped to greet Abby while making the rounds at the polls. Fuller Clark, a former lawmaker and stalwart member of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, said she'll be keeping an eye on the voting results in Rochester after the polls close. She predicted the Lilac City vote totals will be a bellwether for the races for governor, executive council and the state House and Senate.
“I would think that we would know before nine o'clock what has happened, unless it's just really close,” she said.
1 p.m., Newmarket — Newmarket officials report that 2,100 voters have gone through the polls by 1 p.m. today. The town has more than 6,000 registered voters total. — From Foster's reporter Liz Markhlevskaya.
12:56 p.m., Newmarket — Around lunchtime, the Newmarket High School saw no lines at the polls, despite a busy morning when the polls opened at 7 a.m.
“It was incredibly busy with the before-work crowd, and I'm sure the after-work crowd will be busy as well,” said Town Council Chairman Phil Nazzaro around noontime. He said he plans on being at the polls throughout the day.
After exiting the polling booth, Newmarket resident Ralph Atkins, 66, said he voted Republican when it came to candidates for president, Congress, and governor.
“They can't do worse than the Democrats did,” said Atkins. — From Foster's reporter Liz Markhlevskaya.

12:55 p.m., Dover — Foster's photographer Julian Russell captured video late this morning of political advocates singing Kumbaya at the polls. Here's the link if you want to have a listen: http://youtu.be/o_D60Y6n6IQ

12:37 p.m., Madbury — Foster's photographer John Huff reports the polls as very busy. http://youtu.be/znD31al_f1E
12 p.m., Madbury — Town Moderator, Dick Houghton, said around noon time on Tuesday that things were running smoothly at the Madbury polls.
Having opened their doors for the first time this year at 7 a.m., the Town Hall was welcoming a steady stream of voters, but seeing it's first lull of the day around lunch time, he said.
While there were a few objections to the new Voter ID law, he said residents who did object were willing to sogn the affidavit officials had ready at the polls.
"We had everything in place, so it didn't disrupt anything," he said. — Foster's reporter, Andrea Bulfinch
11:47 a.m., Dover — City Clerk Karen Lavertu said Wards 1 & 2 had very long lines due to new voters needing to register early this morning. Other than that, all machines are working and moderators and volunteers are working hard! — From Foster's reporter Michelle Kingston.
11:43 a.m., Exeter — The Exeter Police Department tweeted at that as of 11a.m., 2,229 voters had come out to the Exeter polls.
11:03, Newmarket — From Foster's reporter Jim Haddadin: Voter turnout was heavy in Newmarket this morning, with some people waiting up to 22 minutes to cast ballots, according to Town Clerk Becki Benvenuti.
The polling is being held inside the gymnasium at Newmarket Junior/Senior High School, where a team if 50 election volunteers are offering their assistance.
“I drove in at 5:30 this morning and a voter met me in the driveway and asked when the polls open,” Benvenuti said.
Benvenuti predicted the turnout will be higher in Newmarket this year than in 2008, during the last presidential election.
Election officials are dealing with a few changes this year, the biggest of which is the state's new voter identification requirement. Voters are being asked to present a valid I.D. with a photograph or alternatively, to sign a statement attesting to their identity.
“There have been a few people that gave made, you know, kind of inappropriate comments about it,” Benvenuti said, “but for the most part, really, the vast majority have been excellent about having it ready and showing their I.D.”
As of 10:30 a.m., about 1,500 people had cast ballots in Newmarket. Of that number, approximately 20 voters were required to sign voter affidavits.
“That's a really, really small percentage,” Benvenuti said. “Smaller than the primary.”
10:43 a.m., Rochester — Don't try to vote in the wrong location! Foster's reporter Liz Markhlevskaya said there was some confusion about polling places in Rochester today. The City Clerk says Lilac Estates is the polling place for Ward 3, not the fire station. Another new polling location is Home Depot, for Ward 4. http://www.fosters.com/2012_polling_locations
10:39 a.m., Farmington — Town clerk says voters are coming in “fast and furious,” only four signed voter I.D. affidavits so far.
10:39 a.m., Kittery, Maine — Foster's IT manager Simeon Broughton was at the polls in Kittery, Maine, early this morning and reported very heavy turnout. “It was mobbed,” he said.
10:38 a.m., Somersworth — Foster's photographer John Huff reports heavy voting in Somersworth's Ward 1 with “lines out the door.”
10:13 a.m., Farmington — Farmington man tells Rochester reporter Samantha Allen he “felt uncomfortable” showing voter I.D. today. “It's like they didn't trust me.” http://youtu.be/1iUuQB4iwi4
9:42 a.m., Farmington — Rochester reporter Samantha Allen reports busy polling in Farmington with advocates outside the Old Town Hall.
8:13 a.m., Dover's Ward 2 — Rochester Times and Foster's Daily Democrat reporter Conor Makem went to vote this morning in Dover's Ward 2 and saw longer lines than in the presidential election in 2008 “Probably a 30-minute wait to vote,” Conor wrote. http://youtu.be/mhE2iuMiiKo

8 a.m., New Durham — Sharon Doherty, wife of Foster's Executive Editor Rod Doherty, said the parking lot in and around the New Durham School was full when polls opened at 8 a.m. and since that time, there has been a steady stream of voters.

8 a.m., Rochester — Foster's V.P. Wayne Chick voted in Ward 2 in Rochester when the polls opened. He and his wife, Rachel said there were 150 people in line. Within 45 minutes, the line went down to 10 to 15 people. They had a table set up for new voters, a table for affidavits. “It was really amazing how efficiently they had things set up this morning,” Chick said. Based on what he saw. Chick said the new voter I.D. law was not an issue.

7 a.m., Newmarket — According to Buzz Dietterle, editor of the Foster's editorial pages, Newmarket's polling station at the high school had more than 200 people waiting in line when the polls opened at 7 a.m. The line stretched more than 150 yards from the gymnasium door out onto Main Street. Four years ago, the line was not nearly as long and voting went more quickly. Once inside the polls this morning, voters without I.D.s were separated and provided with affidavits before getting in line to vote. Voting was delayed because of the new voter I.D. verification process. Voters had to present their I.D.s and say their name loudly enough for polling observers to hear.

7 a.m., Scarborough, Maine — Foster's Assistant Sunday and Business Editor Jerry Turner say long lines at the polls. People were actually waiting in line for the polls to open at 7. Some had to leave without voting because they had to get to work, but said they would come back.

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